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Club Information
Thiensville-Mequon Rotary
Service Above Self
We meet Tuesdays at 12:00 PM
Rotary Park
4100 Highland Rd
Mequon, WI  53092
United States
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Stories
Rotary reef revisited
 
Copied from Rotary Weekly, July 20, 2018
In the calm blue waters of Lamon Bay in Quezon Province, Philippines, lies a source of pride for local fishermen and a submerged salute to Rotary: an artificial reef in the shape of a Rotary wheel. The wheel has helped restore the local fishing industry, which was devastated by large-scale commercial fishing vessels that used dynamite, cyanide, and fine mesh nets from the late 1990s through the early 2000s.
 
 
 
 
The Rundown, July 30, 2018
1. Another impressive display of Van Mobley's smoking abilities.  Van Mobley led Tuesday's cooking crew supported by Bruce Rowe, Greg Sommersberger, Wilma Banaparte, and Andrew Petzold. Although I'm not certain Andrew Petzold was present, nor am I certain I've ever met him.  In fact, if you're reading this Andrew, you should come to a meeting and introduce yourself, I'd love to meet you. 
 
2. Chinooks tickets are officially sold out.  If you're interested in coming to the game you will either have to sit alone or purchase tickets on the secondary market. 
 
3. Sam Azinger's Chinooks tickets are available for sale. Sam has 2 tickets and is asking for $500 each. 
 
4. Fall into Comedy is looking for silent auction donations, and possibly still additional sponsors.  If anyone (or business) would like to donate an item or become a sponsor, they should contact Todd Davis, or Ellen MacFarlane. 
 
5. If you are receiving the newsletter twice, that is because you are listed as a Rotary Member and separately as a bulletin subscriber.  Please let me know if this is the case and I will remove you as a bulletin subscriber. 
Thank You Sandy:  Sandy Custer Awarded 6th Paul Harris!
President Tim Vertz announced Sandy Custer's  2017-2018 Paul Harris Award at Tuesday's Meeting (as seen in the first image). Tim then presented the Award to Sandy and shook his hand, followed by Sandy beginning to walk back to his seat (as seen in the second image). This is Sandy's 6th Paul Harris award, an accomplishment worth great applause.  Sandy should expect to receive his 10 Sam Azinger Awards in the near future as soon as the Board approves the Sam Azinger Award for $100 contributions.     
Karl Hertz - Pillar of our Community
 
I first met Karl Hertz about a year ago at one of my first Rotary meetings.  Karl was one of the first Rotarians to engage me in conversation, and I was quickly taken in by his charm. Writing an article for the T-M Rotary about a man with such great accomplishments whom I have only had the pleasure of knowing for one year will be a great challenge, in particular due to his background in education and his indubitable ability to identify plagiarism. That being said, here is a link to the JS Online article about Karl's recent Pillar of the Community Award. 
 
https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northshore/news/mequon/2018/02/08/karl-hertz-honored-pillar-mequon-community/315962002/
 
I will also encourage you to read the excellent article in the News Graphic written by Gary Achterberg from Thursday if you have not done so already, however I was unable to find a link.
 
Finally, the question I may be the only one asking, why does Karl not have a Wikipedia Page (yet)?
 
So, what would Karl's Wikipedia page say? It would certainly start with his history, his family including his beautiful wife Carol, his career from teaching to being the superintendent of the Mequon-Thiensville School District, and his commitment to the community.  Karl served as President of T-M Rotary for the 1989-1990 year. He also served as Thiensville Village Trustee, Village President and Ozaukee County Supervisor (anyone would be welcome to add dates to this service on his Wikipedia page). Among other things, I do not think it would be a stretch to say Karl could do the best Christopher Walken impression. 
 
I think of Karl every time someone from outside of our community mentions they are "looking for a good school for their kids." Thanks in great part to Karl's contributions, we have some of the greatest public schools in the country. This in particular we cannot be grateful for enough.  
 
What is next for a man who has accomplished so much? I'm sure Karl is open to a conversation about his future plans, and is certainly approachable. I cannot think of a person more deserving of being taken out to lunch by anyone who wants to experience what it truly means to be a Rotarian. 
Charitable Giving - A Tax Deduction is Just an Added Bonus
Thank you to Atty. Maureen O'Leary for presenting on the 2017 tax law changes and the impact the changes may have on charitable giving. Maureen highlighted the changes to the tax law, including the increased standard deduction and limits on the State and Local Tax deduction, and how less people may itemize their deductions (including charitable deductions) as a result.  Maureen additionally provided shared some strategies for maximizing tax deductions by using Qualified Charitable Distributions to satisfy IRA Required Minimum Distributions, or by "Bunching" to increase charitable giving in a single year and itemizing your deductions for that year, while taking the standard deduction for other years.  
 
Of course, no presentation from an attorney (or subsequent story written by an attorney) would be complete without the disclaimer that nothing in the presentation (or subsequent story about the presentation) should be construed as tax or legal advice nor does it create an attorney-client relationship.  You should consult your attorney and tax adviser regarding your personal situation.  If you missed the presentation but are interested in reading about it, please email me at sazinger@willmslaw and I would be happy to send you a copy of the Powerpoint.  
Ellen MacFarlane Honored with 5th Paul Harris Award
 
Congratulation to Ellen Macfarlane on receipt of her 5th Paul Harris Award. Thank you Ellen for your dedication to Rotary and all that Rotary stands for. 
Introducing "The Rundown"
The weekly Rotary Bulletin is a great resource for reaching Rotarians about upcoming events and the happenings of each week.  There are often a list of highlights and stories which deserve a full story with photographs, but there are other considerations which have brought about the idea of the Rundown.  
 
The Rundown will be a short list and summary of information and reminders that Rotary and Rotarians would like to pass along to the Club which will be included in each newsletter.  Here's some information about the Rundown that might be helpful. 
 
1. If you have an item that you would like to have included in the Rundown, please email me (sazinger@willmslaw.com) or drop a written note to me at meetings.  If you email me, please email before or shortly after the meeting as the Rundown will be drafted Tuesday afternoons for the following Monday meeting. If you send me something to be included after 2pm on a Tuesday and request that it is included in the following Monday's Bulletin I will gladly do so, but you will be fined $5 payable at the next meeting (assuming I'm allowed to fine people and Shelly will follow through on collecting). 
 
2. Items that could be included in the Rundown would be reminders about events, important brags (published after official brags or by Rotarians who were unable to attend that weeks meeting), or any other information you would like to pass along. 
 
3. Please do not be offended if a News worthy story is included in the Rundown as opposed to as a separate story.  The determination factors for if something is included as a separate story versus an item in the Rundown will be based on things such as if I have time to write a separate story, if there is a photograph, or if I was at the meeting. 
 
4. If you feel an item in the Rundown is worthy of a separate story and would like to see it published as such, please feel free to write a story and send it to me to be published on the Website and in the next issue of the Bulletin.
 
Hopefully this format will be fun and a good way to convey certain information to the Club going forward.
Heather Mader Gives Thumbnail Presentation
 
One of our newest Rotarians, Heather Mader gave a thumbnail presentation at Tuesday's meeting. It is always a pleasure to learn a little about our new members. We look forward to hearing from Nick in just a few weeks. 
Welcome New(ish) Member, Russell Brown
 
Rotary Club welcomes back Russell Brown, seen receiving his pin in the first image. Russell is pictured twice in the second image, first being being inducted into the Club, and second standing on a tractor in the photograph of Rotary Park first being built.  Russell attended Tuesday's meetings with his 3 grandchildren. It's great to have Russell back. 
Smile: You're on Amazon
 
I shop regularly on Amazon, and now have an excuse better than convenience and better prices.  If instead of logging in at amazon.com you log in at smile.amazon.com, Amazon will donate a small percentage of the proceeds to a charity of your choice.  It's pretty simple to set up and, if everyone participates and tells their friends, has the potential to raise a great amount for our club foundation. 
 
Here's the steps:
 
1. Log in at smile.amazon.com or just google Amazon Smile.
 
2. On the "Your Account" drop down list search for "Your AmazonSmile" and click.
 
3. On the right hand side under "Your current charity" click "Change charity."
 
4. Search for "Thiensville Mequon Rotary" and select Thiensville Mequon Rotary Foundation, Inc. as your charity. 
 
5. Every time you make a purchase on Amazon, use the smile.amazon.com website and a percentage of certain purchase items will be donated to the Foundation.    
Upcoming Speakers
Jul 24, 2018
Jul 31, 2018
New member thumbnail presentation
Aug 07, 2018
What's going on in Thiensville?
View entire list
Upcoming Events
Chinooks Outing
Kapco Park
Aug 09, 2018 6:35 PM
 
Meeting Responsibilities
Prayer/Inspiration
 
July 31
Sommersberger, Greg
 
August 7
Vertz, Tim
 
August 14
Von Rueden, Anthony
 
Greeter
 
July 31
Ott, Jim
 
August 7
Pearson, Jessica
 
August 14
Peterson, Thomas
 
Pledge
 
July 31
Hillman, Herbert
 
August 7
Holtz, Rob
 
August 14
Huffman, Greg
 
If you cannot fulfill your responsibility, please make arrangements for someone else to take your place.
 
Cooking Crew 7/31
 
Head Chef 7/31
Hillman, Herbert
 
Crew 7/31
Jacobs, Robert
 
Crew 7/31
Kirgues, Roger
 
Crew 7/31
Pearson, Jessica
 
Crew 7/31
Mader, Heather
 
Cooking Crew 8/7
 
Head Chef 8/7
Azinger, Samuel
 
Crew 8/7
Hertz, Karl V.
 
Crew 8/7
MacFarlane, Ellen
 
Crew 8/7
Ott, Jim
 
Crew 8/7
Huffman, Greg
 
Cooking Crew 8/14
 
Head Chef 8/14
Robertson, Dianne
 
Crew 8/14
Von Rueden, Anthony
 
Crew 8/14
Wiese, John
 
Crew 8/14
Johannes, Richard
 
Cooking Crew 8/21 (evening)
 
Head Chef 8/21
Custer, Sandy
 
Crew 8/21
Naggs, Karle
 
Crew 8/21
Carr, Tim
 
Crew 8/21
Joynt, Matthew
 
Crew 8/21
Muchin Young, Rachel
 
Crew 8/21
Witte, George
 
Russell Hampton
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